President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. is exploring ways to cut out the middlemen in the agricultural supply chain so farmers can earn more, Malacañang said on Thursday.
The Presidential Communications Office said the President has asked the Department of Agriculture to directly link food producers with consumers and institutional buyers.
In response, the DA said it has enhanced its market linkage initiative to assist farmers’ cooperatives and associations across the country, the PCO said.
“Under the initiative, about P2.589 million worth of onions had been sold by the FCAs to institutional buyers from September 2022 to 24 January 2023, composed of 3,478 kilograms of red onions worth P755,455 and 5,106.38 kilograms of white onions worth P1.833 million,” the PCO reported.
The DA-awarded Kadiwa trucks and vans also help the FCAs with their hauling and delivery to markets and big buyers, it added.
The Department of Agriculture has also provided the farmers with assistance and training sessions in farm clustering and consolidation, where market-driven production and focus on supplying institutional buyers are applied to help farmers earn better with higher volume, it said.
Last year, the President said he was determined to transform the Kadiwa project into a national program to provide the public access to more affordable and high-quality fresh goods.
The Kadiwa program also seeks to provide a market to local farmers, fishermen, and small business enterprises.
For the President, who concurrently serves as Agriculture chief, market-driven production and farmers’ access to capital and available storage facilities will also be a big boost to the agriculture sector.
Based on the 2022 year-end report of the DA, the Kadiwa stores across the country generated P418 million in sales.
The 19,383 Kadiwa stores have served 1.22 million household consumers and benefitted 450 farmer cooperatives and associations and agri-fishery enterprises nationwide.